Ukrainian forces “repelled 72 enemy attacks” in Donetsk Oblast in the eastern parts of the mainland over the past 24 hours, the nation’s General Staff have claimed. In its latest update, officials of the Ukrainian Armed Forces said the Russian soldiers “had not given up on waging war” in the Donetsk Oblast, which makes up the western half of Donbas, despite heavy casualties.
It comes as independent assessments of the situation in Bakhmut, one of the major cities in the region, suggested that more than 75 percent of the city was under Russian occupation, though attempts to encircle it and force a Ukrainian retreat had not been completed.
Ukraine’s General Staff of the Armed Forces said Russia had “fired one missile and 21 air strikes” throughout Tuesday, as well as 33 multiple launch rocket system (MLRS) attacks.
These were all carried out in Donetsk Oblast in eastern Ukraine and focused on the cities of Lyman, Bakhmut, Avdiivka, and Marinka, they said.
From the other side, Ukraine’s Air Force carried out 13 strikes on the concentration of Russian troops and equipment, according to the update. They also downed two Orlan-10-type drones.
The country’s rocket and artillery forces struck five areas of concentration of Russian troops and equipment and two electronic warfare (EW) systems, the General Staff added.
The statement read: “The Russian Federation continues to disregard the laws and customs of war, so the likelihood of missile and air strikes continues to remain high throughout Ukraine.
“Despite the numerous losses in technique and manpower, the opponent does not give up on waging a foreign war.
“It continues to focus the main efforts on the offensive in the Lyman, Bakhmut, Avdiivka and Marinka directions. Yesterday, our defenders repelled 72 enemy attacks in these directions.”
Pavlo Kyrylenko, governor of Donetsk Oblast, said on Wednesday morning in his latest update on Telegram that five residents of the region had been wounded as a result of the latest 24 hours of Russian attacks.
While the vast majority of civilians have fled the region, several thousand remain in cities such as Bakhmut and Avdiivka, living largely underground.
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The most intense fighting in Donetsk Oblast has taken place in Bakhmut, a city in the northeast of the region, and Wagner Group chief Prigozhin has claimed that they now control more than 80 percent of it.
The Institute for the Study of War, on Tuesday night, suggested that from their satellite analysis, Russian control of Bakhmut is likely closer to 76.5 percent, while a full encirclement of the remaining Ukrainian forces was uncompleted.
Nonetheless, Russia continues to make marginal gains in the area after roughly 10 months of fighting and on Monday, Denis Pushilin, the head of the pro-Russian paramilitary group the Donetsk People’s Republic (DNR), claimed to have visited the city to evidence this.
To the southwest of Bakhmut, Russian military bloggers claimed that their forces had also advanced on an agricultural complex near Marinka.
Ukrainian Tavriisk Direction Defense Forces Spokesperson Colonel Oleksiy Dmytrashkivskyi stated on April 10 that Russian forces are attempting to take Marinka to reach Kurakhove, to the west of the administrative hub of Donetsk City, because Russian forces are unable to capture Avdiivka.
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Elsewhere, Russian forces “seriously damaged” a building in the southern city of Beryslav, on the northern bank of the Dnipro River in Kherson Oblast.
Images of the aftermath showed multiple fires raging in the ruins of the building, which had been reduced to rubble. No casualties were reported.
The Kherson region, the southern parts of which are under Russian occupation, has been one of the most shelled areas in Ukraine.
Russian missile campaigns have been particularly pronounced following the Ukrainian liberation of its administrative hub, after which the Oblast is named, in November last year.
On Wednesday morning, top presidential adviser Andriy Yermak said Russia was “committing genocide” against the Ukrainian people.
